Fragments
by MangaFreak15
Summary: His student died, and just like that the world's strongest hitman broke. Deathfic. Rated M for mature themes. R27 pairing.


**FRAGMENTS**

**R27 - Reborn x Tsuna**

**One-shot, tragedy, deathfic**

**Rated M for mature themes**

* * *

His student died, and just like that the strongest hitman in the world broke. AU-ish, features adult!Reborn and TYL!Tsuna

* * *

It was a dark night. Reborn tilted his head to gaze passively up at the single lit window of the Vongola Mansion. Through the clear paned glass, he spotted a head of unruly brown hair, bobbing as its owner sat at his desk and scribbled tirelessly away at the numerous papers that decorated his desk. Black pen in hand, the young boss of the Vongola Famiglia scrawled his signature across the sheet in front of him, tossing it into the ever-growing pile of finished paperwork. He paused as his eyes skimmed over the next one, and then he dragged the tip of his pen over it and shoved it into the pile without a second glance.

Paperwork, thought Reborn with distaste. The bane of existence for all mafia bosses. Actually for bosses in general. It never ended. Bills for repairs, contracts with businesses, invitations for parties, proposals from allied and neutral families, even fan mail. Like any other leader, Tsuna was starting to look more and more tired each day from staying up late mindlessly trying to finish all the work. That man needed a break.

Reborn looked away, one hand gripping the edge of his black fedora hat. Perhaps Tsuna was too consumed in his daily office duties that he failed to notice that his Famiglia was beginning to get worried. Every morning it pained them to see their beloved leader in such a wreck, yet no matter how often they approached him to spend time with him, to forget about the paperwork for that day, he gently rejected them. It was troubling. Even Hibari, that uncatchable cloud who hated crowding, was beginning to show concern for his boss' steadily weakening state. Even Mukuro, the enigmatic mist who had once proclaimed he wished to take possession of Tsuna's body, had lost his familiar, ever-present suave smile, giving way to a deep frown that looked strange on his face when he beheld the sight of his boss. Gokudera was eating less out of sheer anxiety. Yamamoto was looking disheartened by rejection. Chrome looked dejected because she could not help him. And Lambo, once of a carefree nature, had become jaded and increasingly sullen.

This had to stop, before Tsuna and everyone around him burned themselves out. Reborn took long, measured steps across the courtyard. The guardians were most likely asleep by now. As the man's former tutor, he had the responsibility of watching over his former student even though he wasn't teaching him anymore. Vongola Decimo needed a long-awaited break.

It came as no surprise to him that Tsuna didn't even spare him a glance as he opened the door to let himself in. All of Tsuna's attention was focused on the paper. The endless piles of paper.

Reborn took out his gun. He aimed, index finger resting on the trigger, thumb pulling back the safety catch.

Tsuna didn't look up.

_Bang!_

The pen in Tsuna's hand exploded in a flurry of sticky black ink. The boss of the Vongola Famiglia stared dispassionately down at the broken utensil, not seeming to understand what just happened. He lifted his hand slowly, watching the ink drip from his fingertips onto the ruined contract he had been about to sign. His tired brown eyes shifted up, alighting on Reborn without a hint of emotion.

"Reborn." The hitman nearly flinched when Tsuna said his name in a completely blank voice; flat and dull. "What are you doing here?"

"Dame-Tsuna," addressed Reborn quietly, stepping closer to the desk. "You need to stop this. Get some rest. A boss is no good to anyone if he can't take care of himself."

There was no change in the man's posture other than a flicker of shadowed eyes back down to the stained paper. Mechanically, Tsuna answered, "I need to finish my work. You should know how important it is, since you were the one who originally forced me not to run away from it."

Reborn felt decidedly bitter at the jab because it was true. He was the person who told Tsuna that he needed to finish his paperwork before he could go off to have fun or spend time with his guardians. But this was taking it too far. The dark bags under Tsuna's eyes, the slump in his position, the weary eyes that spoke of pain and loneliness - this wasn't what Reborn had meant when he wanted Tsuna to sit down and do his paperwork like a real man.

The dark-haired hitman walked around the desk and approached the chair Tsuna was sitting in. Grasping the top with his left hand, he wheeled the chair around so Tsuna was facing him. The man's ink-stained hand slipped off the desk and landed limply in his lap. Tsuna did not notice it; his eyes were gazing vacantly at a distant point beyond Reborn's shoulder. With what strength he could muster, Reborn pulled Tsuna up out of the chair and began to guide him towards the door.

"Reborn?" asked the young boss quietly. "Where are you taking me?"

The hitman did not answer him, merely tugged him along towards their destination. Tsuna stumbled after him on autopilot, his mind too tired and his body too drained to fight. They left the office behind with its unfinished towers of paperwork and messy ink stains. Reborn dragged him down the expansive hallway, turning left and opening the first door he saw. He shoved Tsuna in.

"Wash your hands," he said curtly, closing the door behind him so Tsuna couldn't walk back to his office. "A boss should be presentable at all times."

Tsuna moved towards the sink lethargically, his actions stiff and almost robotic. He turned on the faucet, automatically squirting the scentless soap on to his hand from the plastic bottle on the side. He rubbed his hands together slowly, the ink smearing and mixing together with the soap. As he held his hands under the water from the faucet, Reborn watched the watery gray stains slide down the sides of the porcelain sink. Tsuna shut the water off after all of the ink had been washed away, reaching for the towel hanging from the metal ring on the side. He dried his hands sluggishly, wiping the fluffy white towel against his palms several times before he realized they were dry.

Reborn took his hand and led him outside, careful not to move too fast. Instead of having Tsuna go back to his office, the hitman guided him to his bedroom. Tsuna needed sleep; lots of it.

Tsuna tugged feebly against his grip, a clear indication that he wanted to go back to work. Reborn wouldn't let him. He opened the lavishly-decorated door and dragged the exhausted man to his bed. Upon reaching it, Reborn picked Tsuna up (when had he become so light?) and laid him on top of the covers.

"Dame-Tsuna. Go to sleep," he ordered, holding the man down when he tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Half-lidded brown eyes blinked sleepily at him.

"Don't… want to…" slurred Tsuna, his gaze going unfocused for a moment. "Not… tired…"

Reborn leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Go to sleep, Tsuna," he said. "I'll see you in the morni -"

"No!" In a wild fit of panic, Tsuna clung on to the older man's sleeve. "S-stay with me, Reborn. Please."

Observing his former student, the hitman noticed the hint of fear now present in Tsuna's eyes. His eyes narrowed. Tsuna's Hyper Intuition had probably sensed that something was amiss, and now he was afraid to be alone. He made no move to tug his sleeve from Tsuna's death grip. Instead, he sank down next to the bed and whispered into the man's ear: "What do you sense, Tsuna?"

"Something…" choked the brunet, eyes widening as tears began to pool at the edges. "Something is going to happen tomorrow. Something bad." He shivered.

Reborn frowned. Hyper Intuition was known for never being wrong, so whatever it was that Tsuna was feeling had to be powerful. It had to be something really bad for the brunet to curl-up and shake like this. He sighed, and climbed into bed with him. He wrapped his arms around the shaking man and lightly rocked him back and forth, calming him down.

He thought Tsuna fell asleep, so he loosened his arms around the man's frame, but he was unprepared for Tsuna to grab him by the collar and tug him down. Their lips met in a hasty kiss. Reborn could feel the intensity of Tsuna's desperation as their mouths opened, allowing an exchange of spit as Tsuna's tongue surged forward, eager to explore. Reborn rolled them over so he was on top. Tsuna's hands came up to unbutton Reborn's black vest, nearly ripping the fabric open in the rushed attempt to get what he wanted. Reborn cupped his lover's face with both hands in order to deepen their kisses, hushed and quick. Tsuna let out a quiet gasp as the hitman kissed his way down his jawline.

He threw his head back, mouth open wide in a silent cry as Reborn palmed his crotch through the fabric of his dark pants. The dark-haired man wasted no time in pulling down his boss' clothing, exposing the red tip of Tsuna's erection, already slick with pre-cum. He dragged his tongue over the length of it once, bathing in satisfaction when he heard the brunet half-scream from the sensation. He left it alone as he began to free his own arousal from its confines as quickly as he could.

He spit into his hands, rubbing them over his cock in some semblance of lubricant, before he lifted Tsuna's legs and rammed into him with a single hard thrust. The action elicited a cry from the brunet beneath him, gasping as he tried to adjust to Reborn's large length filling him up. It hurt, oh god it hurt, but he urged the hitman to get on with it. He needed this, _badly_.

Reborn rocked into him, plunging into Tsuna's body again and again. The smaller man clutched his shoulders as he was driven into the mattress, garbled moans and little noises coming out from his mouth as he told Reborn to go _harder_, go _faster_, please, please, _please_.

Finally they exploded together, Reborn grunting as he spilled his seed into the man's body. Tsuna cried out loudly as he came, white filling his vision as a violent orgasm raced through his body, weakening him. They collapsed on to the bed together, filling the silence with their labored breathing. Reborn sat up after a while and took a handful of tissues from the bedside table to clean them both up.

"Thanks… Reborn," murmured the brown-haired man dazedly. He drifted off into a deep sleep as the exhaustion finally caught up to him. Reborn smiled down at the innocent sight, brushing some of Tsuna's longer bangs away from his forehead.

"Goodnight, Tsuna," he whispered, slipping away as a sense of drowsiness washed over him. He breathed in the scent of Tsuna's hair as he closed his eyes, falling asleep in mere seconds.

* * *

The next morning Tsunayoshi was gone. Reborn's eyes widened when he beheld the cold, empty space on the bed beside him. Cursing loudly in Italian, he flung off the blankets that had somehow gotten over him when he was asleep and leaped out of bed. He blinked when he realized he was still half-naked from last night's activities. Rushing over to Tsuna's closet, he wrenched the doors open forcefully. Tsuna was smaller than him in stature, but surely there was something he had that was too big for him to wear. He browsed through the man's numerous suits and shirts, finally happening upon a plain white button-up shirt and a pair of black pants that fit him well enough. He dressed hurriedly, jamming his hat on his head, and left the room in a rush, praying that Tsuna had not gone back to his office to finish his work after all the time he spent doing it yesterday.

He burst into the room, gun in hand, ready to shoot another pen out of the Decimo's hand. He lowered his weapon when he realized Tsuna wasn't there. The messy piles of paper were in the exact same position as they were yesterday, along with the broken pen and the ugly black ink stain that had dried on the desk's surface, sticking the ruined contract to it. Tsuna hadn't been in here at all since last night, when Reborn dragged him out of the office. Reborn wanted to smack himself for his stupid mistake. Since when did he act so rashly? He was the cool, composed, and calm hitman that he had shown to the world, not an emotional rookie out on his first assassination job. He pivoted on his heel, intending to exit the office to go and find his former student.

"Reborn? You're awake!" said a familiar voice. Reborn hid his surprise when a head of fluffy brown hair peaked through the doorway. "I was coming to get you since it's time for breakfast." He noted that the bags under the brunet's eyes weren't as prominent as they had been last night.

Reborn crossed his arms, eyeing the young man from under his fedora hat. "Are you sure you weren't trying to get back to your paperwork?" he asked. Tsuna seemed to notice the sharp note in his tone, because his smile dimmed considerably. The memory of the previous night left a bad taste in his mouth, because of how _dead_ he had acted. Reborn was right; what good was a boss who couldn't even take care of himself?

"I've decided to take a break for today," he answered. "I haven't spent much time with everyone lately, and I want to apologize for… for my stupidity." There was a tint of pink to his cheeks, Reborn noted with a small smile. "I was thinking we could all have fun today - no work, no business. I-is that alright with you, Reborn?"

"Have your guardians agreed to this?" questioned the hitman.

"Yes… they looked overjoyed that I suggested the idea to them," mumbled Tsuna. "Even Kyouya and Mukuro looked happy. Guess I really was too deep into that paperwork to notice that I've been neglecting them." He gave his former tutor a sheepish smile. "Let's just relax for today."

Reborn allowed a smile to grace his face. "Very well, Dame-Tsuna. You're finally learning how to be a proper boss," he said smugly. "Thanks to me, of course."

"Hey, who said I wasn't a proper boss before?" protested Tsuna, albeit half-heartedly since he couldn't contain the grin that appeared on his face. "Anyway, we're all waiting for you to have breakfast with us. Let's go, Reborn." The smaller man disappeared through the doorway, presumably to head down to the dining hall. Reborn followed after him, tilting his fedora hat to shadow part of his face. Despite their carefree attitudes, he couldn't help but worry about the future. What event had Tsuna's Hyper Intuition warned him about yesterday? When would it happen? He knew it was going to be sometime today, and he couldn't help feeling that cold, ugly sensation that crawled around in his chest. He just hoped nothing bad would happen to his former student.

* * *

"Juudaime! This place is amazing!" exclaimed one Gokudera Hayato in excitement.

"Where did you find a place like this, Tsuna?" wondered Yamamoto Takeshi as he gazed around.

"This place is beautiful to the EXTREME!" announced Sasagawa Ryohei, punching his fist into the air.

"This is the perfect place to take a nap," yawned Lambo, liking the feeling of wind in his hair.

"Kufufu, I suppose we will be spending the day here," said Rokudo Mukuro, smirking at his boss.

"This place looks wonderful, bossu," murmured Chrome Dokuro, admiring the scenery.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, you will tell me why you did not bother to inform me of this place," growled Hibari Kyouya, giving his boss a meaningful stare.

Tsuna smiled brightly at his guardians as they examined his special place with curious and awe-filled eyes (minus Hibari, of course). He settled down in the grass amidst a scattering of white daisies, carefully placing the beige picnic basket next to him. He felt guilty for ignoring his guardians in favor of trying to finish his paperwork. In order to compensate for his long absence, he decided that they would be having a group picnic together; and not in just any common place. He took them to his special place, where he often went for some quality alone time if he ever needed to get away from everything.

The place wasn't particularly big, but it was large enough to suit his purposes. It was a glade he had found one day while exploring the forest around the mansion. The glade was surrounded by tall trees on all sides, except for one opening where a pool of clear water was situated. A miniature waterfall gushed into the pool from a small cliff. Around the glade grew a multitude of colorful flowers of many shapes and sizes, sneaking around the roots of the trees and towards the bank. Small, soft, spongy grass covered the ground in the clearing, making it an ideal picnic spot. Warm shafts of golden sunlight peeked through the openings in the lush green canopies towering overhead, falling in random spots upon the grass. Small insects buzzed quietly around the flowers, sailing between the leaves. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower. Birds trilled magnificently from above, filling the glade with pleasant, natural music. Tsuna knew that his guardians wouldn't be able to see it at this time, but sometimes at night the fireflies would come out and bathe the glade in a luminous yellow glow that made it look utterly breathtaking. The whole place exuded a sense of serenity that could not be matched. It was like a sanctuary; beautiful in its right, and separated from the world.

"What do you think, Reborn?" he asked his former tutor softly, patting the space next to him as an invitation for the man to sit down beside him.

"It is… surprisingly peaceful," admitted Reborn. He liked how calm he felt in this place. The beauty and cheerful sounds of nature revitalized him in ways that sleep could not. He felt more alive, as if the place could wash away all of his sins with its tranquility. It was pleasant.

"I'm glad," said Tsuna, wrapping his arms around the hitman in a hug. "Reborn… thank you for being here with me."

Reborn's suspicions instantly arose at Tsuna's words, but he forced himself to maintain a calm composure so as not to alarm the other. The way Tsuna was speaking was akin to someone who knew something was going to happen, but didn't want to worry the people around him so he kept quiet about it. Because of last night's incident that led up to their activity, Reborn already knew that Tsuna sensed something. He wanted to squeeze the brunet in his arms and tell him it was okay, but he knew, without a doubt, that Tsuna thought he was probably going to die. That's why he was saying thank you.

"Reborn?"

Tsuna's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Vongola's Decimo was looking up at him, concern etched into his boyish face. He must have seen Reborn's face darken in irritation. The hitman steeled himself for what he was about to say.

"Tsunayoshi," he began, "Please be honest with me. You think you're going to die, don't you?"

Tsuna's eyes widened, firstly because Reborn _never _used his full name, and secondly because Reborn had been able to guess what he had been thinking.

"How did you know?" he asked softly, releasing the older man.

Reborn's pitch-black eyes narrowed at him. "Your actions, and the tone of your voice gave it away," he said bitterly. "I already had my suspicions from yesterday, but to think you've given up already..."

Tsuna was quiet. His silence confirmed everything for Reborn. "Tsuna," he said, an unknown emotion sneaking into his voice as he spoke, making the Vongola boss look at him in alarm. "I will do everything to keep you safe. Just don't give up. It's not like you."

"Reborn…" Tsuna reached for the hitman's hand, covering the larger appendage with his own smaller one. "I won't give up. I promise. I want - I want to keep living with everyone. I want to experience new things. I don't want to die yet."

Reborn gave him a faint smile.

"Juudaime! Is it time to eat yet?" Gokudera called out eagerly. The guardians had seen Tsuna and Reborn having a private conversation in the glade, so they wisely chose to leave them alone until they were done. Of course they wanted to know what the two were talking about, but it wasn't any of their business. So they pretended not to hear anything. If it was important, their boss would let them know.

Tsuna broke away from Reborn and answered, "Yeah. Let's eat!" He drew out a picnic blanket from the basket and settled it on the grass, making sure it was nice and flat before he took out the food. The chefs of the Vongola mansion had really outdone themselves this time: all sorts of plates of pasta neatly wrapped in plates with plastic wrap, buttery rolls with cheese and eggs, an alfredo chicken dish with spaghetti, and more. Drinks were packed at the bottom.

They had such a merry time of it that none of them noticed the black-clad figure hidden in the trees nearby, carefully and silently maneuvering so he had a clear shot at the Vongola Decimo. That man was going down, along with his precious Famiglia. He did not have a personal grudge against the man - hell, he seemed like a good boss - but for the sake of his own famiglia he would carry out his orders and kill the Vongola Decimo. He had only one shot; if he missed, he would have failed because they would be alerted to him. A sniper like him stood no chance against seven angry guardians and the strongest hitman in the world. He had to make the shot count.

He readied his sniper rifle, aiming carefully at Vongola Decimo's heart, and waited for the right opportunity to strike.

Shit, that guy was looking straight at him! He hurriedly fired the shot, before he felt a piercing pain in his chest. Then all was black.

* * *

Tsuna's Hyper Intuition tickled his senses. Though he kept up the facade of smiling and having fun with his guardians, he knew something was wrong. Someone was watching them. Who?

Reborn knew something was up when he saw a hint of unease enter Tsuna's eyes. His own intuition was telling him that Tsuna was in danger. He subtly glanced around, his sharp eyes searching for a possible assailant. Then he spotted him. Hidden in the trees, with a rifle aimed at Tsuna. A sniper!

He pulled out his gun and quickly fired a shot to get rid of the assassin, but he was too late. The sniper fired his own shot, milliseconds before Reborn's bullet killed him.

_Bang!_

_**NO!**_

Reborn tried to move himself into the path of the assassin's bullet, but he failed to push Tsuna down in time. The bullet hit its target.

All seven guardians had varying faces of shock and anger when they heard the gunshot, and saw the dead sniper fall from the tree. A second later Tsuna lurched forward with a pained gasp, expelling blood from his mouth on to the picnic blanket as red began to blossom outward from the wound. His heart… it hit his heart. He fell.

"JUUDAIME!"

"TSUNA!"

"SAWADA!"

"Bossu!"

Gokudera caught Tsuna in his arms, his eyes wide with helplessness as he saw his beloved boss cough up more blood. Ryohei was beside him quicker than he could blink, conjuring up his sun flames in an attempt to heal Tsuna's fatal injury. His hands shook as fear coursed through his very being, because Tsuna's wound _was not healing_, no matter how many Sun flames he tried to push into it. It couldn't be! Why wasn't his goddamn injury healing? Damn it!

"Don't you dare die, Sawada Tsunayoshi!" hissed Hibari, trying to keep the Vongola boss' eyes from permanently closing.

Tsuna blinked at them, unable to understand what they were saying because of the haze of pain that enveloped his mind. He had foreseen that something like this would happen, but he didn't expect it to be so painful. Who was talking to him? Kyouya? Hayato? Ryohei? It hurt. He was in pain. Why was he in pain? Oh, right. He got shot. Who shot him? Reborn said he would keep him safe. Where was Reborn? Why didn't he keep him safe? He felt himself start to drift away. He didn't like being in pain…

"Tsuna! Tsuna, stay with me! Don't give up, you promised!" Who was it? Who was calling him? Promise? What promise?

"_Tsunayoshi!"_

…Reborn?

He blinked weakly, barely able to discern Reborn's panicked face in front of him. Huh. Reborn and panicked do not go well together. Why did he look like that? He mustered the remainder of his strength to reach up shakily and touch his bloody fingers to his lover's pale cheeks. Reborn? Stop crying, it's okay… why was Reborn crying? Wasn't he the strongest hitman in the world? He never cried. Why was he crying?

"I'm… sorry…" he mouthed to the man holding him as he died. "I couldn't… keep my promise…"

"Baka-Tsuna. It's too late, isn't it?" said Reborn angrily, grief choking him up. He couldn't do anything. He had to watch as his former student died right in front of him, while he did _nothing_. Why? Why Tsuna? Tsuna, the purest, kindest, gentlest, most innocent man in the entirety of this cruel universe. Why? What did he do to warrant a death like this?

Tsuna's eyes were starting to become unfocused. "Reborn…" he whispered, so quiet that the hitman barely heard it. "I… love…" _you…_ His lips stretched into a small smile. Then his gaze became glassy, as he stared out from a lifeless face. His fingers fell from Reborn's cheeks, smearing crimson trails on Reborn's pale skin.

"_**JUUDAIME!"**_ howled Gokudera, tears falling unashamedly from his eyes onto Tsuna's hair. Yamamoto looked away, agony present in his entire posture. Lambo was shedding waterfalls at Tsuna's side, screaming about how unfair it was that the person he looked up to so much had been taken away from him at such a young age. Chrome was sobbing into Mukuro's shirt, her tears staining his dark coat. He put his arm around her, lips thinning in anger. Ryohei was slumped against his boss' body, still repeating in his head 'why couldn't I heal him? Why?' Hibari simply stared at the strangely content face of his dead boss. He clenched his fists tightly, a murderous aura beginning to leak around him. He would find out who had sent that assassin, and there would be _hell to pay_ for them. He had respected that omnivore because of his transition from a stuttering herbivore into a powerful near-carnivore, and because of one man the omnivore's life had been cut short. He seethed. He stood up and stalked over to where the dead assassin lay. He would avenge the omnivore. Whoever did this would not escape his wrath.

Reborn sat stock-still in the same position, gently cradling Tsuna's head to his chest. His pitch-black eyes were completely blank. There were no more tears. His former student died, and just like that the strongest hitman in the world broke. Tsuna had been the guiding light in his life, bringing him the happiness he knew he didn't deserve because he was a hitman. Tsuna had given him everything, and what did he give back? Nothing. He hadn't been able to save him. He had said he would do everything to keep Tsuna safe, and he fucking _failed._ He didn't deserve to be the strongest hitman in the world. He didn't deserve to be _anything._ He had failed Tsuna in the worst way imaginable, and because of his incompetency his lover was dead. The Vongola Famiglia lost their leader, with no successors to take Tsuna's place. And it was all his fault. If only he had allowed Tsuna to finish his paperwork! Sure, he looked like a zombie, but at least he had still been alive. Still warm, still smiling, still among the living. But he wasn't. The cold reality was that Tsuna was dead, and he would never come back. He would never smile again, never grace them with his calming presence, never make them feel like an actual Famiglia with heart-warming bonds. Sawada Tsunayoshi was gone.

He got up mechanically, like a broken doll, and set Tsuna's head down gently. He made his way over to the corpse of the sniper, and identified which Famiglia he was from. His black eyes glowed with hatred. They would not live much longer for assassinating the boss of the Vongola Famiglia. He would make them _pay._

Behind him, the seven guardians mirrored his expression.

* * *

That night, the enemy Famiglia and all its allies were slaughtered in a gruesome massacre that left the entire mafia community scarred for life. The incident was the most terrifying act of revenge the mafia as a whole ever witnessed, and it became known as the "Decimo's Revenge" because what triggered the event was the death of Vongola's beloved tenth boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Leading the attack were Decimo's seven guardians, along with the man feared as the strongest hitman in the world. The enemy Famiglia had stood no chance against the enraged guardians. And Reborn had shown zero mercy to the people who had sent that sniper to kill his beloved former student. By sunrise, the enemy Famiglia and its allies were no more. Gone. Destroyed. _Annihilated from the face of existence._

A week later the Vongola Famiglia held a grand funeral for their fallen leader. Thousands of people attended the solemn event - a solid block of black all crowded at the place where the funeral was held. One by one all the people who had been close to the tenth boss went up and said their parting words. Some of the people, including Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu, Decimo's parents, broke down in the middle of their speeches. It was a sad, sad affair.

Reborn went last. As he stood stoically in front of the sea of people, he began to thumb through random memories that popped into his head: the first time he met Tsuna, the training, how his little chest swelled with pride when he witnessed Tsuna defeat opponents without needing his help, the fight with the Varia, the future incident, the coronation, the first time they kissed, and then the first time they had sex. He cleared his throat to catch the audience's attention.

"As all of you should know, my name is Reborn. I am the world's strongest hitman. I was Tsunayoshi's home-tutor for a number of years, until he officially became Vongola Decimo," said Reborn. "When I first met him, he was a weakling and a coward. He had bad test grades, he was clumsy, he couldn't do anything right. The only thing that stood out about him was his heart. He wore it on his sleeve, so I could read every emotion in his face. He could be determined when he wanted to be. He was kind. Gentle. Merciful. He had all the potential of a true mafia boss, and I could see that.

"We went through a lot together. I stood by him in times of trouble and guided him. Eventually he was able to break the Arcobaleno curse, and I returned to this form you see now. Even after he became Vongola Decimo, I stayed with him to help him. We… we became lovers. It is not a well-known fact, but I am telling this to you now. I will shoot anyone who dares to call him a _whore_ or a_ fag _in the light of this revelation. No one? Good, because you would regret it.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi was the gentlest soul I have ever known. He accepted former enemies if they repented. He did not turn away his friends, especially in times of need. He was Vongola's greatest boss, and yet, because of one Famiglia's jealous wish, he died. Words cannot express how much rage I feel because of his death. I hope that all of you standing here right now will think about your actions in the future, so others will not have to suffer the consequences of your stupidity.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi was my friend, my boss, and my lover. I will miss him more than you will ever know."

With that, he laid a single pink carnation on the coffin.

_I will never forget you._

* * *

After the funeral, Reborn vanished seemingly off the face of the earth. No one ever saw him again, but every year following Tsuna's death there would always be flowers at his grave on the day of his death anniversary. Anemone for unfading love. Purple hyacinth as a request for forgiveness. Blue salvia for remembrance. Red roses for love. And other flowers, until one day, twelve years after Tsuna's death, there was a bouquet that held both sweetpea and cyclamen flowers. Reborn himself, clad in a tattered black and silver cloak, sat in front of Tsuna's grave, and died in his sleep. He was buried next to him in that glade where Tsuna had taken them for the last picnic.

_Thank you, and goodbye..._

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**I wrote this in one day, go me! Tragic one-shot. For my friend, who wanted me to write either a G27 or R27 fic for her. Hope you like it! Um, yeah, I'm not well-versed in flower language, just looked it up on the Internet, so correct me if I'm wrong. Please review!**

**MangaFreak15**


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